Watch the USS McCain lifted onto a ship that ships ships

The USS McCain was loaded onto a heavy lift transport bound for Japan. A time lapsed video of the loading process, which took several hours, was shared by the U.S. Naval Institute News. The U.S. Navy will repair the vessel in Japan rather than send it back to a U.S. shipyard.

The USS McCain was damaged in an August 21, 2017 collision with the merchant vessel Alnic MC struck the McCain’s port side. The collision caused damage to the hull and flooding. Ten sailors were killed in the incident.

The collision occurred near Singapore, which maintains friendly relations with the United States. Consequently the destroyer has been docked at Changi Naval Base since the incident. The McCain was loaded onto the heavy lift transport M/V Treasure for transport back to Japan.

The destroyer will be repaired at Yokosuka naval base, near Tokyo, home of the McCain and other ships of the U.S. 7th Fleet. Navy officials concluded that the damage sustained by the McCain could be repaired in Japan. This will allow sailors assigned to the ship and their families to stay nearby and not relocate to a stateside repair site.

The M/V Treasure is a 711 foot long, 147 foot wide vessel designed to lift ships, oil rigs, and other sea-based, oversized cargo. The Malta-flagged vessel is currently sitting off the coast of Singapore with an estimated time of arrival at Yokosuka scheduled for October 22nd. A similar ship, the M/V Blue Marlin, hauled the destroyer USS Cole back to the United States after a 2000 bomb attack in the port of Aden, Yemen punched a hole in its side, killing 17 sailors.